Two Capuchin friars have been named co-vice postulators of the cause for canonization of Venerable Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap.

Father Lawrence Webber, O.F.M. Cap., and Brother Richard Merling, O.F.M. Cap., were named co-vice postulators by Father Florio Tessari, O.F.M., Cap., postulator general in Rome. As co-vice postulators, they will gather documentation of healings attributed to Venerable Solanus Casey’s intercession.

Venerable Solanus Casey served for 20 years at three parishes in the Archdiocese of New York during the first part of the 20th century. He served for 14 years at Sacred Heart parish in Yonkers, and also at Our Lady of Sorrows in Manhattan and the former Our Lady of the Angels in Harlem. He was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Father Webber will continue to serve as director of the Solanus Casey Center, a pilgrimage center devoted to the Capuchin friar. Brother Merling will continue as director of the Father Solanus Guild, an organization devoted to spreading the word about the life and ministry of Father Solanus. Both the center and the guild are ministries of the Detroit-based Capuchin Province of St. Joseph.